House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 41% of the vote.
Mirabel Airport December 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I cannot get over hearing such remarks from a member who served under the Mulroney government, which was in office for nine years, yet did nothing in this matter and signed the 60-year lease. Is the member telling me that the signature of the Mulroney government is worth nothing? Is that the reality? They signed for 60 years. Who are they to stand up now to oppose what they did in 1992?
Mirabel Airport December 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate the hon. member on putting his question in French. That is remarkable, and his accent is very good.
As for the substance of the question, I will tell him that the reason we cannot give the land back to the farmers in Mirabel is that we want to abide by the agreement signed in 1992 by the Conservative government, whereby ADM was granted a 60-year lease. The Conservatives may not keep their word, but we do, and we respect the signature of a government on an agreement.
Mirabel Airport December 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I am very glad the hon. member asked me that question and I am even more glad that he was in the House when I made my speech. He knows I never said that particular land would be needed for Bombardier's development.
What I did say was that we believe in the future of Mirabel, that the Bombardier proposal is one of the elements in the development of Mirabel and that we see many others. We believe in the future of Bombardier, the future of Mirabel, the future of Quebec and the future of Canada, despite what they think.
Port of Prince Rupert November 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I was in Prince Rupert two weeks ago. I was very impressed by the proposal and the number of partners that came to the table ready to contribute. That is why I had a long discussion with my B.C. colleagues at caucus. Everybody is in support of this project. We just have to find the ways and means to support it financially.
Obviously it is a great project. It has the greatest potential because of the new trade with China. We are very interested in that project.
Mirabel Airport November 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I have always known that the plans for the Bombardier plant did not necessarily involve farmland. In fact, that is why the farmers were offered the use of this land until 2023. I did not think this land would be taken away from them before then.
We have offered the current farmers—139 of them—use of this land until 2023. However, we want to protect the future, because we believe in the future of Mirabel and of Bombardier. That is what we are focussing on, not on trying to shrink Mirabel or destroy future plans.
Mirabel Airport November 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that the Bombardier plan for construction of its C series is one of the many plans under consideration for the future development of Mirabel. We have confidence in Mirabel's future, in industry or in cargo and we do not want to limit the future.
This is why the lease signed by the Conservatives was for 60 years. We are going to respect this signature and do everything possible to promote the development of Mirabel, whether in terms of industry or of cargo or of any other project. Four proposals are currently under consideration at ADM for the future development of Mirabel—
Supply November 25th, 2004
What did you do when you were in government?
Supply November 25th, 2004
Signed by them.
Supply November 25th, 2004
You were in power.
Supply November 25th, 2004
We weren't in government for nine years.